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Crawlers, Dozers, Loaders & Backhoes Discussion Forum

John Deere 420 Crawler

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Larry Hardesty

05-16-2005 07:24:18




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A couple of years ago I purchased a 1958 John Deere 420 crawler from my uncle. My grandfather had purchased it new in 1958. It has about 1700 hours on the tach. Unfortunately, a drive shaft broke 11 years ago and it sat for 10 years. In the meantime, water got in one cylinder. So I had the local John Deere dealer replace the shaft, bore out the cylinders and put in oversized pistons. Now I still have the following problems and am looking for advice (I do have the dealer service manual but am a novice mechanic...and looking for someone with lots of experience with the 420's):
1. Both tracks are loose and adjusted as far as they can go with the tension. One track is probably okay for now, the other one sags a good 4-5 inches. I assume the pins and bushings are woren. What do I need to do to get new pins and bushings and replace them. From my reading, it looks like they have to be pressed out by a special machine.
2. The brakes and clutch do not work well. How big of a job is it to get them adjust right. Particularly in reverse, it is not brake well.
3. The blade will not stay up. I do not see leakage around the cylinders. Is that possibly bad o-ring in the hydraulic unit??
4. The brake pedal is only works with one side; It was not connected to the right side, but I cannot find where it is supposed to be connected to the left side brake.
5. The bolts holding the muffler to the manifold appear loose. Maybe it is as simple as taking off the hood and tightening them, but I would have thought the dealer would have done that. Is there something special I should know abou them?
Any help appreciated. Got a lot invested in trying to save a crawler that came down through the family, but looks like maybe a lot more is still needed.

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Bernie in MA

05-16-2005 16:52:39




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 Re: John Deere 420 Crawler in reply to Larry Hardesty, 05-16-2005 07:24:18  
I have a '57 I bought new in '59. At the time I thought it was a leftover '58. I also have a '56. The hydraulic leakage problem on my '56, which has the #62 blade with 2 cylinders, was the cups on the inside of the cylinder were bad. There are 2 on each cylinder. Take the 4 nuts off the rods that hold the cylinder together and pull the piston out. The cups are held onto the piston by a big nut. They face away from each other if yours are completely shredded. I got new ones at a hydraulic repair place @ $20 each. You may need to holesaw the holes.

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Larry Hardesty

05-17-2005 06:41:30




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 Re: John Deere 420 Crawler in reply to Bernie in MA, 05-16-2005 16:52:39  
Thanks for the help. I have ordered the parts from the local hydraulic place. The local John Deere place did one cylinder but not both (go figure). No doubt cheaper for me to do both anyway. Not sure what you mean by holesaw the hole? Again thanks. Larry



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Bernie in MA

05-18-2005 19:37:36




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 Re: John Deere 420 Crawler in reply to Larry Hardesty, 05-17-2005 06:41:30  
My cups came with no hole in them. I used a holesaw to make them. It's kind of an odd size. I'll try to remember tomorrow to look at the size. The crawler and saw is at the farm, 10 miles from here or I'd look now. I found out which one was leaking with an old type metal oil can, the kind you push the bottom to squirt the oil out. Empty it , put the tip against the cylinder and the flat bottom against your ear. You can hear the oil gurgle as it leaks past the cup(s).

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Larry Hardesty

05-19-2005 06:39:03




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 Re: John Deere 420 Crawler in reply to Bernie in MA, 05-18-2005 19:37:36  
Thanks for the help.



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Bernie in MA

05-21-2005 16:57:53




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 Re: John Deere 420 Crawler in reply to Larry Hardesty, 05-19-2005 06:39:03  
That holesaw size is 1 9/16. Sorry about taking so long.



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BKahler

05-16-2005 15:48:13




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 Re: John Deere 420 Crawler in reply to Larry Hardesty, 05-16-2005 07:24:18  
Larry,

Sounds like you've got your hands full! If you you don't get any answers here you can also check out the JD Crawlers website and forum. I've included the link below. You'll find a lot of good help on that site as well.

Brad



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Larry Hardesty

05-16-2005 15:52:24




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 Re: John Deere 420 Crawler in reply to BKahler, 05-16-2005 15:48:13  
Thanks, Lavoy Wilcox and I have been contact since my message. He has been a great help and much more reasonable price than local John Deere dealer (and more knowledgeable). Thanks



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BKahler

05-16-2005 19:13:10




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 Re: John Deere 420 Crawler in reply to Larry Hardesty, 05-16-2005 15:52:24  
Its nice to have the kind of knowledge that Lavoy and the JD Crawlers website offers along with this site. Without them these old machines wouldn't be near as much fun to mess around with!

Good luck with your problems.

Brad



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